January 15, 2013 - Christopher Nash purchases treats for his dog at Hollywood Feed in Bartlett from assistant manager Ginger White. Bartlett showed $308,150 extra for November from the half-cent sales tax rate increase approved by residents last summer, meaning an overall increase of about $605,750 for the first two months of collection, according to city officials. (Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal)

The Commercial Appeal

Some suburban governments in Shelby County have already received hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenues from the half-cent sales tax rate increase approved by residents last summer.

And, in most cases, the money is being steered to legal costs and efforts to secure municipal school districts — districts endorsed by suburban voters in a referendum on the same Aug. 2 ballot where they approved the bump in local option sales taxes.

Voters in five of the six suburbs passed referendums increasing the local option sales tax rate from 2.25 percent to the maximum of 2.75 percent. The funds were touted for schools, although they were not specifically designated for education. The increase eventually also was approved in Millington, but not until after a court challenge.

The other five cities have received the revenues for October and November, even though the suburbs' pursuit of municipal schools has stalled because of a Nov. 27 court ruling regarding the separate school districts.

Collierville has realized approximately $645,000 in additional revenue over the two months, benefiting from businesses such as Wal-Mart, Krogers, car dealerships and the Carriage Crossing shopping center district.

Bartlett showed $308,150 extra for November, meaning an overall increase of about $605,750 for the first two months of collection, according to city officials. Bartlett benefits from several car dealerships, a trio of Kroger stores and large retailers along Stage Road, such as Lowe's, Wal-Mart and Sam's.

Germantown, more of a residential community with limited commercial districts, shows about $366,787 in extra revenues for October and November.

But not every city has a bonanza of extra funds coming in. Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman said for October and November, the town received $29,000 and $33,000, respectively. The one Kroger store probably is responsible for a significant chunk of those sales tax revenues.

Wissman said the amount is "about right on pace" with what town leaders expected. He said they are using the revenues for legal fees associated with the ongoing education fight and other costs, such as the recent hiring of a lobbyist to oversee their interest in Nashville during the current legislative session.

"We didn't have it dedicated to education," Wissman said, noting that the town has not established a line item in its budget for education. He said they are committing the funds to schools, but "until we have something up and running, we didn't want to make a separate education budget."

Lakeland, which suffered from the Kroger on U.S. 64 moving across the street to the Memphis side of the highway in September 2011, is getting about $18,500 a month, according to City Manager Bob Wherry. The city, like Arlington, recently approved paying $6,000 for a lobbyist this session.

Millington has not started receiving the extra revenues because the city did not start collecting the additional half-cent until December. The sales tax referendum initially failed in Millington, but the city challenged the results saying non-residents, particularly those in the Lucy community which was in the midst of an annexation, were incorrectly allowed to voted.